Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has had success with its new iPhone 7, and its stock has performed admirably because of the initial popularity of its new toy.
Raymond James, for example, has re-issued its 12-month projection for Apple stock, increasing its original estimate of $129 per share to $139 per share. An analyst for BMO Capital Markets foresees an even larger bump: $116 to $140.
The predictions are based on forecasts of strong sales performance both domestically and overseas. Initially, the actual sales numbers bore out these predictions, and the iPhone 7 sold out in two days after a larger-than-ever-before preordering blitz.
Will these predictions bear themselves out in the future? A lot depends on the performance of the iPhone 7 itself, particularly as it compares to the other top-of-the-line smartphones in the industry.
Chiefly, this comparison winds up being a battle between the iPhone 7 and Samsung (KS:005930)'s Galaxy S7. One British technology reviewer places the Samsung Galaxy S7 firmly ahead of the iPhone 7 in almost every tangible category.
Another points out the iPhone 7's bulkier-than-average construction, lack of a headphone jack, and lack of expandable memory as serious defects in the construction. The same publication, however, lists longer battery life and ease of operation as positives.
Perhaps most damning of all is Apple's decision to remove the headphone jack at the same time as it's promoting its line of $200 airpods for listening to music.
As yet another British publication points out, there is anger among users at what appears to be a shameless money grab. MarketWatch shows that some analysts are now , at best, ho-hum about the iPhone 7 because of customer reaction after the initial high of the buy subsides. MarketWatch even went as far to say that the only two reasons to buy the iPhone 7 are battery life and excellent camera.
Whether or not these dire predictions cancel out the initial optimistic predictions remains to be seen.